The Glass Mask

Part 3

"Nuri! Shiri! If you don't stop running around this instant, there'll be no supper for you tonight," Kili warned his children, then engaged in a rousing game of tag…but the last time they'd played tag, Kili's best bow had somehow been snapped. He loved his babies, but he honestly didn't want to find out what more they could break.

At the sound of his threat, both twins stopped running immediately, hurrying to the table with apologetic looks on their faces.

"We're sorry, Mama. We won't do it again," Shiri promised…even though all three of them knew it was half-hearted at best. Kili rolled his eyes and shook his head before ladling out three bowls of mutton stew and bringing them to the table, where Nuri was already itching to tear into the loaf of fresh-baked bread.

It was just like any other supper. The twins begged for details about Kili's day out in the forest hunting big game and they told him about their own day, lessons with Bilbo and picking berries with the other children. Kili was not at all expecting his life to change again when a knock sounded at the door near the end of the meal. Kili chuckled before draining his mead and going to the door, expecting to see Bombur with another loaf of bread or some other treat for Nuri and Shiri.

Well…Bombur was there…along with his brothers and Bilbo…as well as Oin, Balin, Dori, and Nori. Immediately, Kili's face fell.

"What…what are you doing here?" he asked, already feeling himself start to tremble.

"We didn't want to believe these dwarves…when they came into town saying they were searching for a dwarf who'd come to us about seven or eight years ago…we didn't want to believe it was you…but I can see by your face that you recognize them. Kir…who are these people?" Bilbo asked him.

Shuddering, Kili turned to his children…his beloved babies…the only things in his life that still mattered.

"Nuri…Shiri…you…you can finish eating upstairs."

"Really?" Nuri asked, looking excited.

"We can?" Shiri pressed, looking suspicious.

"Yes. We'll talk later. If you're good and don't come down until I call you, there'll be some honey candy for you," he promised.

Both twins cheered and gathered up the rest of their supper, scrambling up to the upstairs loft with their dishes.

"Fili's children?" Oin asked as the group entered the little cottage. Kili nodded, already feeling a lump beginning to form in his throat. Why had they come now? What could they possibly want from him? That life was over…wasn't it?

"What do you want?" Kili asked, beginning to clear the table, having lost all appetite.

"Actually, we came to beg you to return," Balin started.

"Why? What do you need me for? I'm sure Fili is already…happily married by now. Can my children and I not simply live in peace?"

"Your brother's life is in great danger. He has need of you now," Oin told him.

"My brother doesn't need me. My brother hates me," he insisted.

"You're wrong. How wrong you are, Kili," the old physician insisted.

"Please, don't…don't do this to me. You have no idea what it took…for me to walk away from him. I can't go back…not now. It will only break my heart."

"This Fili they speak of…that would be…Crown Prince Fili?" Bilbo asked. Kili nodded.

"Making you…Prince Kili…the brother long thought dead," Bombur finished. Again, Kili nodded, still not looking at his friends.

"And he is the father of the twins," Bofur added, again only receiving a nod.

"I…betrayed my brother…in order to conceive them. I lay with him without his knowledge…and he found out. If I hadn't left, he surely would have had me banished."

"It isn't true," Oin insisted again.

"Isn't true?" Kili repeated with rage burning bright in his dark eyes. He certainly would have exploded at his visitors if he hadn't had the children to worry about. "You mean to tell me I imagined that look of betrayal eight years ago? That I imagined him turning from me and dropping that accursed mask as he ran? Have I somehow hallucinated these years of despair and heartache?"

"No…no one is denying what you've suffered. We're only trying to tell you you didn't see what you think you saw."

"What I thought…Fili didn't get what he thought he was getting either. Whose fault is that?" Kili spat back at the old healer. "Surely there was some spell on that mask to seduce him."

"No, Kili. Fili got exactly what he wanted that night. There was no spell on that mask but to protect your identity. The spark that existed between the two of you flared into flame that night because you both wished it. Deep down, Fili knew who you really were; his waking mind just wouldn't allow him to see it. Do you really think a mere spell could have prevented your brother from recognizing you? Did you not feel the truth of Fili's love for you when you lay in his arms? He took you that night because he wanted you. No other reason."

Feeling himself begin to tremble again, Kili wrapped his arms around his torso. The reality he had lived with for the past eight years was slowly starting to unravel. "Well, I…I had hoped…but I thought…what…what about when he ran from me?"

"He ran after seeing you with Dwalin," Balin explained. "He'd been sure he'd been with you that night…and when he saw you together, he thought he'd been wrong and that you could never love him as he loves you. That was why he was upset. Fili told my brother the truth after Dain told us you were dead."

"Oh…oh, Mahal," Kili whispered, throat tightening as he fell to his knees. Bilbo and the three brothers rushed to him.

"Fili…Fili…what have I done? Fili," he sobbed quietly, clinging to his friends as they held him.

"My Prince…this is not the time for regrets. There is little time remaining," Dori said, stepping in for the first time.

"What…what are you doing here?" Kili asked as he looked up at the two brothers. "You wanted the crown for your own family. You would have killed me…and my children."

"You are correct…in thinking we would have killed…but not the reasons why," Nori said calmly.

"We have only ever wanted what was best for our little brother…and until recently, we thought what was best would be a marriage to the crown prince," Dori began to explain.

"But not now?" Kili pressed.

"No. We learned recently that Ori loves another…your former fiancé," Nori said.

"Dwalin?"

"Yes…but our father is too desperate for the crown and will permit no marriage. It is within his power to command it now that he has overthrown the king," Dori explained.

"What?"

"Our father gained enough influence over the generals to rise up against Thorin. Marshal law is in effect and those loyal to Thorin are imprisoned, including your brother. He means to have them all executed once Ori is declared pregnant by the prince."

"No," Kili whispered. "He…he can't do this."

"Thorin is trying to stop it from happening, but he wields little influence outside his cell. We few just barely managed to escape imprisonment. And Fili…Fili is not fighting at all. He's completely given up hope. He wants to be executed…because he believes you dead," Balin explained to him, his expression heavy.

"Oh, Fili…no…no. What can I do?" he asked.

"You must rescue him. The only thing that will make Fili want to live again…make him fight back…is to see you alive," Oin said. "You must go back. To see you come back from the dead in service of the true royal family…it will break Dain's power. The generals will flock to your uncle once more."

"And…that will work?" Kili asked, allowing his friends to help him to his feet.

"Absolutely. No one save for Dain and his two eldest sons knew you still lived. They came to us with the knowledge," Oin said.

"And we can…trust the two of you?" Kili asked them, understandably leery.

"We want only our little brother's happiness. So long as that is within your power to give, we are yours to command," Nori said, his expression solemn.

"Well…I suppose that's the best we have for the moment. Only…what of Nuri and Shiri? They would be in danger. Dain would surely kill them if he had the chance."

"Your babes will remain here, safe with me, of course," Bombur said without hesitation. "Those two are like our own. I would never let anything happen to them."

"And the rest of us will join you and fight at your side," Bilbo declared.

"It will be dangerous," Kili warned them.

"So? You are our friend first and prince second. We'd brave danger for you any day," Bofur said. Bifur simply pounded a fist against his chest.

"Thank you…all of you. No dwarf ever had more loyal friends," Kili said, looking around to each of them.

"Well, lad, this is the love of your life. We've all seen how your heart's been breaking for him," Bofur said. "Don't see how you can let this chance go."

"Is first light too soon to leave?" Kili asked.

"Certainly not. The sooner, the better," Balin said.

After setting up pallets for his guests, Kili headed up to the loft to cuddle with his children for what may well be the last time, carrying a piece of candy for each of them.

"Who are they?" Shiri asked as she sucked on her treat.

"Oh, just some old friends of Mama's," he answered, cradling both twins tightly against his sides.

"What do they want?" Nuri asked, licking his piece of candy rather than sucking on it.

"They need me to come with them. I have to go on a trip in the morning. I…I have to go away for awhile."

"But…you'll be back soon, right?" Nuri asked, starting to sound uncertain. The longest they'd ever been separated from their mother was when he took one of his three day hunting trips deep into the forest.

"I don't…know when I'll be back, exactly."

"Can't we come with you?" Shiri asked, her eyes widening, the first sign of tears. Shiri had her father's eyes, and Kili couldn't bear to see her cry. It was too much like his own brother.

"No. You have to stay here."

"But we want to be with you," Nuri insisted.

"I know…but it's not safe where I'm going."

"We don't care," Shiri continued to argue.

"Nuri…Shiri…I promise I will come back to you, but I need you to wait for me until I do. I would never abandon you. Bombur is going to look after you until I return. He loves you both very much. You like Bombur, don't you?" he asked, wiping away the tears that were beginning to trickle from their eyes.

"Uh-huh," the two dwarflings sniffled together.

"There now, you see? Everything's going to be just fine. Be good for me while I'm gone and I'll bring you both back something nice."

"How will you know if we're good?" Shiri pointed out, looking indignant through her tears.

"I'm your mama. I always know. Now, are the two of you ready for bed?" he asked as he climbed onto the pallet the two of them shared.

"You're…sleeping with us?" Nuri asked.

"Of course I am, my little rubies. I want to spend as much time as I can with you before I have to go away. So come to your mama," he said, holding out his arms for them. Smiling brightly, both twins immediately pounced him and they all three went crashing to the pallet. Kili laughed quietly to mask his tears, kissing their heads. "I love you both so much. I'm going to miss you."

"We love you, too, Mama," Nuri said, leaning up to kiss his cheek with sticky lips. It was a struggle for Kili not to outright sob as he cradled them close. He gently stroked their soft brown hair as he sang to them, every lullaby he could remember, until at last he felt them fall asleep in his arms. He did not let go, even after he himself had fallen asleep.

XxX

The next morning was painful and harried. The twins were both awake to see Kili off, but Shiri was the first to retreat back inside the cottage after hugging and kissing him goodbye, looking like she might cry. Nuri also gave Kili a hug and a kiss before following his sister back inside. At first, Kili thought it odd, as Shiri was usually the bolder of the two, but he was soon caught up in the preparations of heading out and forgot the strange incident. It was barely even light by the time the ragtag band of fighters left the village.

The group traveled with a wagon for supplies, but now they also would set half of the group to hide in the wagon so it would seem they were fewer in number and less of a threat. It wasn't until the end of their first day of travel and Kili was on shift to ride in the wagon that he realized his mistake.

There was talk among the group about stopping and setting up camp for the night when the young dwarf suddenly heard a sneeze…a very distinct, high-pitched sneeze that certainly did not come from him or any of his companions. Realizing what he'd heard, Kili felt anger stirring in his gut as he reached toward the barrel he'd heard the sneeze from. He quickly upended it…and the twins came tumbling out along with several half eaten apples.

"What are you doing here?" Kili demanded, his voice quiet, but full of latent rage.

"We…we had to come," Nuri sniffled, turning to his sister in order to follow her lead.

"No. Don't look at her, look at me," Kili scolded his son. "You were supposed to stay home, where it was safe. What are you doing here?"

"We had to come," Shiri finally answered, taking her brother's hand in her own. "We overheard…last night. You're going to find our papa…aren't you."

Kili ran his fingers through his hair several times, sighing and growling in frustration before finally answering, "Yes."

"Why? You said we shouldn't think about him."

"Because I love him, Shiri…and he needs my help."

"If…if you love him…does that mean you don't love us anymore?" she asked, her eyes starting to go wide.

"No. No, no, no, of course not," he reassured them, pulling both twins into his arms. "Just because I love your father doesn't mean I love you any less. There's no limit to the love you have to give to others. I love all three of you. I want for us to be a proper family. Of course…that didn't mean I wanted you along on this very dangerous journey," he said, his mood quickly shifting back to anger. "Sweet Mahal, Bombur must be out of his mind."

"Well, we can't go back. We've no more time to waste," Balin said.

"Perhaps one of us could take them back home?" Bilbo suggested.

"No! Please! Don't send us back!" the twins begged. "We want to help!"

"You can help by not dying," Kili snarled at them, and immediately, both dwarflings went as meek as mice, eyes wide and lower lips trembling. Again, Kili sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just worried for your safety. We'll decide what to do in the morning."

Kili insisted the twins stay hidden in the wagon at all times, not wanting it to become known they were traveling with children. He brought them supper from the evening fire and stayed close to them, not wanting them out of his sight. Thankfully, though, the solution to his problem arrived late in the night after most of the others had gone to sleep.

Bombur came riding into their camp on his stout pony, out of breath as the animal as he dismounted. As the others all jerked awake, the large dwarf came to Kili with a look of abject misery and apology in his eyes.

"Kir, I'm so sorry. I'd thought they were just hiding, and then…well…"

"It's all right. I know what little scamps they are," he scolded lightly as the twins shook themselves awake in his arms.

"Please. Please don't make us go back," Nuri started to plead when Kili climbed out of the wagon.

"I would send you back…except I don't think I can trust you not to run away again," Kili started, facing away from his children. "It seems the safest option at this point is to keep you with us."

Just as the twins began to cheer, Kili stopped them short with a glare. "This isn't a game. You're to keep to Bombur at all times. Wander off and you'll both be punished. I don't care who the culprit is. Once we're inside the castle, you're to follow Bombur's orders. If he tells you to be quiet, you make not one sound. If he tells you to run, you run. If he tells you to hide, you hide. Absolutely no questions or arguments. Do you understand me?"

Both twins nodded at this, afraid to speak.

"Say it out loud. Say to me that you understand."

"We understand," they chorused quietly.

"And promise me you will do exactly as Bombur tells you."

"We promise."

"Good. Now that's settled, we should all probably get some more sleep."

True to their word, throughout the rest of the journey, the twins remained quiet and stuck to Bombur's side whenever they emerged from the wagon, fearing their mother's lingering displeasure. By the time the little band of fighters reached Erebor, all of them except for Dori and Nori boarded the wagon with rope wrapped loosely around their wrists to make it appear as if they were bound. Nuri and Shiri were meant to hide under a few old sacks, but they hadn't gone under just yet. They were both clinging to Kili as they drew closer to the castle gates.

"Mama, I'm scared," Nuri cried quietly.

"I told you this was dangerous," he whispered back, though he was saddened he couldn't embrace his frightened children. "You should've listened. So long as you stick with Bombur, nothing bad will happen to you."

"Will…will we get to see our papa?" Shiri asked.

"Yes. Just leave everything to Mama. You ought to hide now. I'll see you when it's over. I love you both," he reminded them, kissing the tops of their heads.

"We love you, too, Mama," they whispered, standing up on tiptoe to kiss his cheeks before diving under the burlap sacks.

When Dori and Nori drove the wagon up to the gates, one of the guards stepped up to inspect their passengers.

"What have we got here?"

"Loyalists," Nori answered, "being brought in for execution."

"More?" another guard asked. "They're already executing the king and his lords today. How many more necks are for the axe?"

Kili felt his stomach drop at this. Today. The execution was happening today. They wouldn't just be breaking Fili and the others out of the dungeon. They would be rescuing them from off the executioner's block itself.

"Well, may as well unload here. We can hold them in the cells until it's their turn."

Slowly, the six dwarves and lone hobbit disembarked from the wagon, all of them hooded and cloaked, and seeming incapacitated. When a detachment of the gate guards moved forward to take them into custody, though, they were suddenly armed to the teeth, leaping into the fray with swords, axes, and daggers.

It didn't take long to subdue the first round of guards, but it also didn't take long for a fresh wave to fall on them.

"Kili, go!" Oin ordered in the lull between. "Once they learn of the attack, they will push the executions forward! Go!"

Falling back to the wagon, retrieving his bow and arrows, Kili rested a hand first on Shiri's head, then on Nuri's.

"Don't move unless Bombur tells you. I'm coming right back," he promised before heading off into the castle, easily remembering the way, even after nearly eight years.

Hold on, Fili. Hold on. I'm coming. Please don't die!

XxX

It was not a public execution. The only people gathered on the rooftop apart from those to be executed were Dain, Ori, and those generals who had defected to Dain. The day was overcast, though it looked like the sun might peek its head out. Fili didn't really notice any of this, though. He just felt cold…cold and empty. He had been pushed to his knees before the executioner's block, his wrists bound tightly behind him. There was really no need for it, though. He would have lain his own head down on the block. Now he was simply waiting for Dain to finish making his speech about the end of the old guard, eyes gazing vacantly out across the roof…at the stones that would soon run red with blood.

Fili was a grave looking to be filled with the peace of death.

Dain was, of course, congratulating himself as he spoke about how Fili's death would become a powerful symbol to the people and how the royal line would survive in his son. He hadn't needed the two princes to gain what was rightfully his after all. He hadn't even needed to reveal that Kili was still alive. In fact, he would probably send Nori to seek him out once the executions were over in order to tie up any loose ends. After so many years, he finally had his victory.

"Has the condemned any last words?" Dain asked, glancing toward Fili. Unsurprisingly, he remained unmoving.

"So be it. Then let Mahal receive our brother into his halls," he finished, signaling to the executioner. The black-clad dwarf raised his axe slowly…and was suddenly shot through the hand. As the dwarf screamed in pain, the axe clattered uselessly away.

"Don't you dare hurt Fili."

The assembled group turned in the direction the voice and the arrow had come from to find a cloaked figure balanced precariously on the rampart, another arrow already drawn as the sun broke through the clouds.

"Who are you?" Dain demanded.

"A good question. I have been many these long years," the figure answered as he jumped down from the rampart. "I have been a son, a nephew, and a brother. I have been a boy in love…and a boy brokenhearted. I have been a lover and a liar…a boy in a mask. I have been a prince and a peasant…and the mother of two beautiful children. I have fought and I have bled. I have run like a coward…but I stand now to face your treachery," he said, moving slowly through the crowd of generals toward the executioner's block.

While all of this had been going on, something was beginning to wake up inside of Fili. He knew that voice. He would know it anywhere.

Could it…be?

"Most important of all, though…I am he who was dead and now lives again," he announced, throwing back his hood to reveal his face…the face of the love Fili had missed so desperately. "I am Prince Kili…and I return to my beloved brother now in his hour of need."

"Kili?" Fili breathed in shock, a look of painful wonder alighting in his eyes…as if he almost didn't dare to believe what he saw.

"You!" Dain snarled.

"You had nothing to fear from me so long as my brother was happy…and you mean to murder him," Kili accused, eyes narrowing as he affixed the arrow to his bow without actually aiming it.

Dain shook his head. "You have returned only to death, little prince. There is no one here who will fight for you."

"You think so?" Kili asked, casting his eyes around the gathering. Dain looked up to see that several of the generals had fallen to their knees, and those who hadn't were gazing upon Kili with shock in their eyes.

"He's come back…back from the grave," several of them were murmuring. Dain would have argued that he clearly had not been dead in the first place, but that would have meant admitting to the faked suicide before the generals he'd plotted so carefully to get into his pocket. Either way, he would lose them. Glaring at Kili, he pulled a dagger from his belt and moved to Fili's side, seizing him by the hair and holding the dagger to his neck. Briefly, Kili aimed his arrow.

"Shall we find out who's faster?" he challenged, pressing the blade harshly against Fili's skin and drawing a small trickle of blood. Fili hardly noticed. All he could really see was his brother…alive.

Kili lowered his bow only a fraction…and Dain used that fraction of a moment to act. He flung Fili to the ground and threw the knife at Kili. In that same moment, Kili re-aimed and fired.

Dain was pierced in the heart, falling dead within moments. Kili was also struck, but the slight turn he had made in order to fire prevented the blade from hitting its true mark. Kili still fell, though, pain shuddering his frame.

"Kili!" Fili shouted, struggling to his feet and running toward his fallen brother.

"Kili! Kili!" he cried out as he crashed to his knees beside him, tears streaming down his face. "No! Please! Please don't be dead! Not now. Kili!"

Groaning in pain as he sat up, Kili reached for his brother, pulling him into his arms. "It's…all right…Fili. Don't cry," he soothed, being careful of the knife in his shoulder as he held him as tightly as he could.

Fili was laughing and crying at the same time, feeling both destroyed and reborn all at once as Kili held him in his arms. He wasn't really aware of Kili untying his bonds; all he knew was that he was suddenly holding his baby brother…the brother he'd thought never to see again in life. Even though Kili had begged him not to cry, they both wept openly as they embraced.

Neither was quite certain how much time passed, but when they pulled apart briefly, Fili reached into his shirt, drawing out the glass mask. He'd kept it on him as a talisman all this time and he would now be able to complete the act he'd left undone eight years ago.

Kili flinched from the black mask, but he allowed Fili to place it on his face. When the mask had been broken before, it had lost all of its power. As such, Fili knew his brother's face, even through the mask.

"It's you," he cried quietly, caressing every inch of Kili's beautiful face. "Oh, it's you. It was you all along."

"Fili, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. All these years, I thought you hated me…when I had really just abandoned you to…to this."

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Fili whispered several times. "All that matters is that you're here now and I love you," he finally said the words out loud, with no lies or secrets between them, and at long last, their lips met in a tender kiss, and with every moment that passed they became more and more lost in each other.

"I love you," Kili whispered against Fili's lips. Somehow, he felt that the words had been poisoning him all his life and now that he was finally able to speak them his breath was clean after years of being foul and bitter. "I love you. I love you so…my brother…my love."

Neither brother was really aware of what was happening around them. All they cared to think about was each other. All they cared to do was hold each other…to breathe in the scent of the other and know the feel of the other after being denied for so long. It may well have been several hours before anyone could convince Fili and Kili to move from the spot where they'd at last come together.

XxX

Fili paced nervously as Oin treated Kili's knife wound.

"Kili…I don't know."

"Everything's going to be fine," the younger prince reassured his brother, wincing as Oin secured the bandages.

"But…what if they don't like me?"

"Are you serious? They'll love you…as I love you. Don't be afraid," he said, beckoning his brother closer for another sweet kiss. Once Oin left, he immediately sent in Bombur with the twins.

"Mama!" both children shouted, rushing to him and throwing their arms around him. Smiling, Bombur quickly ducked out.

"It was really scary!" Nuri cried.

"We were worried about you," Shiri said.

"It's all right. It's all right," he reassured them, hugging them both, wincing again as his wound was jostled. "Just…be gentle with me. Mama's a little hurt."

"Like that time I broke my arm?" Shiri asked, examining the bandages.

"A little bit like that," Kili said, smiling up at Fili, who looked like he wanted to bolt from the room.

"Nuri? Shiri? Remember how I said you would get to see your papa?" he asked, holding his children at arm's length.

"Yes."

"Uh-huh."

"Well…he's standing right there," he said, nodding in Fili's direction. Slowly, both dwarflings turned to look at him. For what felt like a long while, they just stared at him, and Fili almost wished he could just sink into the ground. Shiri continued to hold Kili's hand, looking uncertain. Nuri was the one to finally approach him, looking almost mystified.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Nuri…that's right. I'm your papa," Fili said, feeling his breath hitch in his throat as he dropped to his knees and held his arms out for the little boy. Grinning from ear to ear, Nuri rushed into them, hugging Fili tightly.

"Papa!"

"Yes…yes…" Fili said quietly, feeling tears prick at his eyes as he held the child he'd thought dead. "I'm your papa."

Shiri continued to hang back, still mistrustful. "You hurt my mama," she accused.

For a moment, Fili looked stricken, but then he nodded. "Yes…I did."

"Fili-"

"He's been sad all this time. He thinks we don't know…but we do. That was because of you," she said, her gaze hard as she looked at her father.

"That's true," he said sadly. If Shiri hated him, it was certainly no more than he deserved. It had been in his power to stop all of this eight years ago.

"Oh, Shiri, darling, no. That's not what-"

"But," Shiri interrupted her mother, "you make him happy now, so I guess you're all right," she finished, a very odd little smile twisting the corners of her mouth.

Fili and Kili both smiled at their daughter. If this was what she was going to give them, they would certainly take it. Shiri would warm to Fili with time, and maybe…maybe they could be a real family.

XxX

When the long day finally began to end, Fili and Kili gave the twins Fili's room to sleep in, while they took Kili's old room, which had remained untouched ever since his disappearance…the room in which they'd conceived Nuri and Shiri…the bed on which they'd first lain together as lovers…and that they now finally returned to, never to be separated again.

"This will all take some getting used to for them," Kili said, twining his fingers together with Fili's as they lay next to each other. "They've only ever slept on a pallet before."

"Well…now they can live like the prince and the princess they are. I'll give you everything you've done without," Fili said, reaching his free hand forward to tangle it in Kili's hair.

"I'm sure you will. I don't doubt you love them…but it still won't be easy for them…this change. They've lived their whole lives in that village."

"Then we'll make the transition slowly. We can go back for awhile, let them see their friends…maybe bring a few of them to the city for a time."

"I'd like that. I have friends there, too," Kili said, trailing a hand along Fili's jaw line.

"No one I have to worry about, I take it?" Fili asked, smiling weakly. Kili could tell he was trying to joke, but he could also see the faint hint of worry in his eyes.

"No," he said, completely serious, leaning in to press his lips to Fili's. He knew he would never be able to have enough of kissing him. "You're the only one…the only one I've ever loved. I pray you never doubt that."

"Never," Fili said, kissing his brow. "For all my life to come…my faith is with you. I had thought all faith lost…when I thought you dead."

"You've been unhappy," Kili said softly, stroking Fili's unbraided hair. "I'm sorry."

"We've both suffered," Fili said, raising one of Kili's hands to his lips and kissing the palm. "Let us think no more of it. That time is over. There is sorrow enough in the world without us adding to it."

"Do you suppose…the way back to the village will be dangerous…without Dain and Thranduil's truce?"

"I'm not so sure. Thorin told me that a messenger arrived for Dain just before supper. Apparently the alliance is collapsing. The other elf leaders hadn't been aware Thranduil was aligning himself with a dwarf. There is turmoil in their ranks now. Even if the fighting doesn't cease altogether, it will certainly become less heated. I believe we will have a chance to recover," Fili said, kissing his brother's neck.

"That's wonderful," Kili said, groaning quietly as he leaned his head back to give Fili better access. "Did I hear right? That Dwalin and Ori will be married at the end of the week?"

"Yes…and I intend to marry you in the morning…if you'll have me," Fili said, taking a moment to look up at him. Kili smiled at him.

"A little sudden, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I won't let you slip away again…without letting you know how much you mean to me," Fili said, completely serious.

"I understand," Kili said, returning the kiss to the brow. "I don't think anyone will be particularly pleased having to put a wedding together in such a hurry…but I understand."

"Well, they had better get used to weddings. Unless my eyes were much deceived, Uncle was displaying quite an interest in your hobbit friend," Fili joked.

"Heh, if the finest warrior in the kingdom couldn't win the king's heart, well…I suppose we'll just see what kind of chance Bilbo has," he teased back, even though part of him almost agreed. He had also seen some sort of spark ignite between the two. Whether that spark was anger, lust, or something else entirely remained to be seen.

"So…shall we get started on the wedding night early?" Fili asked, rolling until he was straddling Kili's hips. Kili grinned at him, running light, teasing touches along his brother's thighs.

"You'll get no complaint from me. It's been…far too long," Kili said, rolling his hips to subtly grind up against Fili's. The blond prince moaned in barely suppressed delight. "And perhaps we might…get started on a sibling for the twins?"

Fili's grin widened a little more at this and he leaned down close to his lover, pressing a very heated kiss to his ear before whispering to him, "You'll get no complaint from me."

Kili inhaled sharply, shuddering against his brother. "Take me, Fili. Make me yours. I'm ready."

"As you wish, my love."

XxX

The crown prince turned out to have an eerie gift for precognition that night. His new husband did indeed fall pregnant from their night together…the fighting with the elves soon ceased…and the king did in fact end up marrying the hobbit several years later.

The young prince gave birth to another baby boy, and as the two princes had hoped, the wounds that had divided their family did manage to heal in time, freeing them from the pain they had unintentionally caused each other. They spent many happy years living between the capitol and the village where the twins had been born, and when the crown prince eventually ascended to the throne himself, it was with an even greater understanding of his people than most kings who had gone before him.

And of course, because you are wondering, they did indeed live happily ever after.

XxX

(A/N) To your satisfaction, I hope. Unless another all-consuming idea like this one comes along, I think my next fairytale will be something along the lines of 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon'.